1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to systems and methods for managing currency transactions, and in particular, to an inexpensive system for securely distributing and accepting scrip at numerous widely distributed gaming devices.
2. Description of the Related Art
Recent years have seen a rapid expansion of the gaming industry. Much of the income derived from such games is collected at gaming devices like slot machines and video poker games.
Revenue from such gaming devices can be increased in one of two ways: by increasing the number of transactions or by increasing the average wager per transaction. The number of transactions can be most easily increased simply by increasing the number of available machines. However, increasing the number of gaming devices can be a costly enterprise.
In the past, most gaming machines used coins as a medium of exchange. The machine accepted the wager in coin, and if the player was successful, paid winnings immediately from coin stored in the machine itself. While effective, such coin machines are expensive to maintain. Since the money taken in by the gaming device generally exceeds jackpots paid out, the accumulated money (in coin) must be removed from each machine on a periodic basis. This collection can be difficult, because coins can be heavy and unwieldy.
Recent years have seen a movement away from coin-only machines and a proliferation of gaming machines that also accept currency as a medium of exchange. In fact, currently, 60% or more of gaming machines can accept wagers in currency. Although they represent an improvement from the coin machines of the past, currency-accepting gaming machines have proved to be no panacea. Currency acceptors do not obviate the need to pay out winnings in coin. For example, if the player cashes out with $25.50 remaining in the payout account, the gaming device can only issue winnings in coin (in this case, 104 quarters). Since players will often terminate play at such times, the coinage paid out generally exceeds wager coinage entered into the machine, and a cache of coin in the gaming device must be maintained and frequently replenished.
What is needed is an inexpensive system and method for managing currency transactions that eases collection, reduces the risk of theft, does not negatively influence impulse gaming. What is also needed is a system that can manage transactions which must be made in a combination of different mediums of monetary exchange, including cash, coin, and scrip.
Gaming devices are also rapidly improving, providing the user with an enhanced gaming experience. New gaming devices incorporate secondary games, detailed video displays, and other enhancements. At the same time, because gaming devices are also expensive it is often prohibitive to scrap existing gaming devices in favor of new ones. What is needed is a system and method for modifying existing games to provide new functional capabilities or to alter existing capabilities. What is also needed is a system and method that allows a plurality of gaming devices to be modified so that they may be monitored and controlled from a central location. This will allow gaming machine play and tracking enhancements to be implemented without excessive cost.
To address the requirements described above, the present invention discloses a method, apparatus, and article of manufacture for dispensing pre-coded scrip.
The method comprises the steps of accepting a cashout command at a gaming device, scanning a code on the pre-coded scrip in response to the cashout command, transmitting the code to a remote processor having access to a database for storing and retrieving codes from a plurality of gaming devices, receiving a scrip dispense message from the remote processor, and dispensing the pre-coded scrip. The article of manufacture comprises a data storage device tangibly embodying instructions to perform the method steps described above.
In one embodiment, the apparatus comprises a scanner for scanning a code on a pre-coded scrip, a scrip dispensing unit for emitting or issuing the scrip to the user, and a processor. The processor is communicatively coupled to the gaming device, the scanner, the scrip dispensing unit, and a remote processor which has access to a database for storing and retrieving codes from a plurality of gaming devices. The processor comprises instructions for transmitting a first message comprising the scanned code to the remote processor and for receiving a second message comprising a scrip dispense message from the remote processor.
In another embodiment, the apparatus comprises a cassette, having a plurality of surfaces forming a cavity therein for storing scrip, and an interface disposed on at least one of the plurality of surfaces, wherein the interface is adapted for releaseably coupling the cassette to the scrip dispensing device.
This system relies on coupons or scrip cards that are inherently worthless and self-authenticating. These coupons are activated and dispensed to the user when a payout is requested, and permanently deactivated when they are re-inserted into a gaming device.